twosuitslukeMahavishnu Orchestra – Open Country Joy
First impression: Quite a fitting titleSo both of these tracks have been a bit of cheating (considering my recent rekindling of prog), but also very risky (I was kinda bored by one of their albums). And it paid off quite well! Both tracks took quite a bit to digest, so let's go with the this track.
First off, your dad was so based, I'm sure he'd have loved to hear you tell him this band scored quite well in "one of your internet games".
Second, France.
Third, although short and dense, this track is quite beautiful and upbeat, I love the violin and how it's an active member of the compositon rather than an afterthought - it blends wonderfully with the other instruments. I'm kinda left wanting a bit more actually, when the track ends, so...
4Mahavishnu Orchestra – One Word
First impression: Pretty intricate song, though I feel it could have been shortened a bit...onto a track that, while great on the whole, and fucking awesome at individual moments, it really could have done with like, a minute less of just a drums solo in the second half imo. But that's not too distracting, since the rest of the song blows... most prog instrumentals out of the water. Such a tight composition, it feels like a very good jam session instead. Just great solo after great solo, constantly going back and forth with each other. And then the grand finale, which is just a wall of intensity and synchronicity - so good.
While some years ago I'd have not paid much attention to it, I must say this track is one that requires quite intense focus to appreciate, else it can become (annoying) background music quite easily.
4.5Shadow Ninja 2.0Homestuck – Pumpkin Party in Sea Hitler's Water Apocalypse
First impression: Now this is the kind of genre bending I digThe most Shadow Ninja thing you could have sent me, and quite off to a good start! At first I felt this was just quirky music for a very peculiar webcomic / crossmedia thing / whetever Homestuck is. But I've come to appreciate the blend of chiptune, DJ scratches, sea chants (?) and uhhhh yeah no clue what else is going on, but it's certainly quite catchy.
Short, sweet, and makes me curious to at least check out the OST to this thing you love dearly.
4Pete Yorn – Lose You
First impression: It feels quite like midwest emo but with very different instrumentationDunno why you thought I'd be familar with this one, it doesn't ring a bell at all nor I've heard of this guy. Anyway, my comment came from thinking that, if you replaced that piano for an electric guitar, and the beats for drums, then it wouldn't sound ouf of place in an emo album.
So, fairly simple track in its structure, but that slowly adds elements as it progresses, making it feel a bit more dynamic and just interesting enough for me to want to keep listening to more.
4Buddyhunter1Blanck Mass – House Vs. House
First impression: It takes a bit of time to get going, but is it worth it?So yeah this was quite fun to listen to on my playlist, as is the song that immediately follows John Lennon's God
.
I'll admit I listened to World Eater twice but didn't think much of it, and even ended up liking Death Drop from this album, but you're quite lucky I didn't listen to the whole thing, as I may have banned it. This track may feel quite repetitive to some, but I just think that electronic music lends itself naturally better to this style of songwriting - I like how this track plays with just a few sounds and has a very simple song structure, but it just works so well. Love the synths and the uninteligible vocals, and the beats are great. Kinda wished the production was a tad cleaner and less compressed, but it doesn't detract that much.
4.25Greet Death – I Hate Everything
First impression: This is quite emoNot a bad thing to be emo tho! I've just had a very hard time finding something other than Brand New I can connect with, and seeing you send me another song by these guys but "this time is different", it made me curious. I think I prefer the mellower approach on this track, with some subtle but very tasty distorted guitars here and there.
But I'm afraid the song has the fault (for me at least) of not varying too much on itself, that is, I feel it's just one continous section rather than having several distinct ones, and the pacing rarely changes. While that works quite well on the Blanck Mass tune, it makes this track feel a bit same-y to me.
3.5HOFYes – Our Song
First impression: Kinda similar to some stuff I've been digging latelyYou're quite lucky I've been jamming some 80s New Wave and similar lately, very slowly warming up to that style. So seeing you send me some poppier Yes made me curious, would this be cool or suck and blow?
It's a cool track indeed! You know that my favorite pop album ever is The Colour of Spring, so every pop song is gonna have to compare to that, and while it doesn't reach that level, I found myself enjoying this quite a bit. I find the synths a biiiiit too bombastic for my liking, but that's also part of the 80s charm. It's a pretty convential song in terms of structure too and that's just fine.
Fairly short and catchy tune, I like it.
3.75Jakko Jakszyk – The Trouble With Angels
First impression: At first I thought it was an 80s recording, but seems it's way more recent?Definitely an ear cleanser after such intense music
. I thought it reminded me of some 80s projects like This Mortal Coil and David Sylvian's solo work, but seems it's very recent. Is this the guy that's been the touring singer with KC lately, right? I think I may have seen him live when they came to Argentina in 2019.
Anyway, the song has quite an interesting, mellow atmosphere that I find myself
digging. Not sure what the deal with angels is but he sings it so nicely I don't care. Love the fretless bass here and there, and the piano is lovely.
Simple song, and an effective one.
4PuppiesMonica Heldal – The One in the Sun (Tinka)
First impression: Guitar tone reminds me of the first GYBE! albums.Yeah that guitar tone is very similar to the one used in some of my favorite albums of all time, so I was curious to see how it'd be used on a completely different genre. This song starts in an almost modern GYBE! fashion but then stops for a moment and acoustic guitars appear, nice. Quite an interesting approach to the Folk Rock genre, almost feels mixed with Post-Rock. I like the instrumental parts a lot more than the sung sections - not that I dislike her voice, but I feel these parts tend to be a little weaker in comparison.
As much as I enjoyed this track, I feel it's a tad too long - at around the 7 minute mark I felt it had said most of what it had to say, but then it went on for another 2 minutes for some reason. It's a nice section certainly, and sort of wraps up with the rest, but I dunno. Maybe some of the middle sections could have been cut.
3.75The The – Uncertain Smile
First impression: First half of the song is nice, second one is nicer.You're in luck, as I've been digging New Wave and similar 80s Pop lately, very slowly warming up to those sounds. This song on its first half feels a bit like a standard radio tune of the time, but when the piano appears on the second half, now that's when things get very interesting. It's such an energetic, vibrant playing, and fits this song so well, and elevates it a lot imo - I also love how it plays with the bass. Real good shit.
Seems I've had this album on my wishlist for ages, guess it's time to check it out.
4IndisciplineJohn Lennon – Beautiful Boy (Darling Boy)
First impression: Although I can't relate to being a dad, I think this is quite heartfelt and lovelyThis song is quite catchy, maybe a bit too much in the end - I've had this stuck on my head all week long, and it's been a little annoying to be honest
. I like the minimal but subtle processing on his voice, and the rest of the instrumentation sounds quite nice. Where it loses me a bit is that overall it felt a tad one-dimensional - the percussion rarely changes in a noticeable way for instance, and while I don't mind that in, say, electronic music, in other genres it can be a tad grating. And while I'm never truly bothered, it does lower its score a bit for me.
3.75John Lennon – God
First impression: Lyrics are a bit too hippie for me, but the music is rather niceI love the main melody here, it's got quite an intensity, and the pacing is rather nice, it works better than the other track imo. But man, I'm not a fan of the lyrics, if I didn't know they were written in 1970 and by this dude, well... I guess they must have been shocking to parents back then.
3.5EliteChano Dominguez, Antonio Lizana, Marc Miralta, Manel Fortia – All the Things You Are
First impression: Quite a lot to take inPure Jazz music can be quite a bit to take in for me, so I need several listen to begin to unwrap it. So seems this album is just a bunch of standards? I know nothing about them, so it all sounds new to me. I like the interplay between all of the instruments here, these guys are quite talented. What I'm usually struggling with in Jazz is that I want a bit more than just the typical instruments - give me vocals, give me synths, electronics, weird shit! I'm a contemporary person that enjoys weird genre fusions most of the time. One band that I've found interesting but has been a bit hit or miss is Fire! Orchestra - their album Exit is so cool.
What I'm trying to say it, take bit more of a risk in this roulette, it might pay off quite well.
3.5Imogen Heap – Hide and Seek
First impression: I kept expecting this song to explode or something, but it didn'tDunno why everyone surprised I didn't know this one - maybe it's just typical first worlders acting up like I should know their niche songs while they know nothing about my culture
.
Anyway, this is a nice song, on my first listen I kept expecting the vocoder to fade into unprocessed vocals and a band to appear and all of that. But nope. I've come to appreciate this song for what it is, a pretty nice and layered tune with just vocals done in an interesting way. It's got a nice emotional components to it, but due to the vocoder, I'm afraid I don't understand half the lyrics without looking them up, and even then I find it a bit difficult to connect with what she's singing.
Still, a very interesting piece.
3.75ariichVaults – Midnight River
First impression: Pretty straightforward and simple, I like itIt certainly would fit some of the other impressions like "normie" and "supermarket music", but it's certainly way less offensive than most music by those labels. It's quite well-written, it's catchy, it comes and goes and does its job well enough. One thing I don't dislike but that I don't like either is the vocalist - I've just heard that same style over and over, and never appealed to my latino ears for some reason.
Not much to say, I like it, but I prefer my pop to be a bit more elaborate and dynamic.
3.5A.A. Williams – Melt
First impression: Quite a cinematic vibeNow this is a name I've seen you send in many roulettes, and for some reason I expected another pop tune that would still appeal to our prog sensibilities. So uhhh yeah this is different
.
Feels like a mix of Singer-Songwriter with Post-Rock, and while I find such genre bending very intriguing, it may not end up succeeding all the time. Maybe is this particular track that doesn't grab me much as I'd like to, but I feel the vocal melodies to be a little too safe, and her singing style quite normal, not risking much as with the instrumentation. I dunno, maybe had this been a little more experimental I'd have liked it more.
I can see why this has been a like, It's Free Real Estate round winner in most roulettes recently, but I'm afraid not this time.
3.25CrowGang of Youths – the kingdom is within you
First impression: Feels both modern and oldHmnnn I'm still not sure what to make of this after several listens - on the one hand it's got a lovely sound and feels somewhat fresh, which is always good in my book. On the other hand, the main melodies are a biiiit on the more commercial side of things, but not much thankfully. Also I'd have liked a bit more balance between the instrumental sections and the sung parts, as I'm sure they'd have sounded great with a bit more time to elaborate.
Although it may not hit the mark, I feel this is headed in the right direction. Curious to hear the rest of that roulette playlist you sent me.
3.75Zach Bryan ft. Maggie Rogers – Dawns
First impression: Maybe a bit too 'murican for my tasteI guess this is certainly the "least country-sounding country dude" I've listened to as well, but it still is quite 'murican for my tastes. It starts quite well, but when the strings appear and the voices in the background start going "ooooohhhh", I begin to lose interest - I wouldn't say it's that generic, but if I was watching one of those boring horse movies set in Montana (or wherever you have people rising horses these days, I don't really know / care / same thing), I wouldn't be surprised at all if this began playing.
It's a fine song I guess, country in any of its forms just doesn't appeal to me.
3ReaperKKDon Ross – First Ride
First impression: Hmnnn fairly intricate and nice playing, but I feel Lizzo would jam with this more than meI wouldn't have been surprised if Lizzo had sent me this instead of you, I know you both share a love for this sort intricate, mostly one instrument chill compositions. I think this would work quite nicely as a soundtrack for a game or an indie film, as it creates a very chill and joyful atmosphere. Fairly simple song is terms of structure, it's easy to get lost into it and just enjoy the layers of sounds this guy creates, but I'm not sure I enjoy it as much on its own.
3.5Kaki King – Joi
First impression: Very technical, and lacking memorable melodiesYeah I've seen her around a bit, I think the first time I did encounter her was a TED Talk years and years ago, and then you sent me something from her some roulette(s) ago. I recall her being extremely talented and skilled, but lacking any sense of composition. I'm afraid my opinion hasn't changed much - this feels like guitar ASMR rather than a piece that goes anywhere, and while that is fine, it's not what I'm looking for these days. Sure I like when it gets intense near the end, but that's about the most interesting part of this.
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Topic: Sucal's daul roulette v6 - POST-ROULETTE UPDATE FOR R1!!!!!! (Read 23808 times)